


Fleeting Moments

by wheninriverdale



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, bughead - Freeform, forever and always by parachute, this was sad i am so sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-11 23:09:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11724519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wheninriverdale/pseuds/wheninriverdale
Summary: He begged and he pleaded with the universe to not take her away from him. Bughead. AU.





	Fleeting Moments

“I’ll be home soon.” Jughead sat in the armchair near the window, watching the quiet street for a sign of headlights. He replayed the four words over in his mind on repeat. It had been almost two hours and there was still no sign of Betty.

He told himself there was nothing to worry about, but he couldn’t ignore the dread he felt in his stomach or the ache in his chest. Betty was never one to linger at her parents for longer than necessary. So he wondered just exactly what the hold up was, or why she wasn’t returning his texts.

The shrill ringing of his phone on the coffee table pulled Jughead from his reverie. It was an unknown number, and under different circumstances Jughead wouldn’t have answered, but the snow outside was beginning to fall a little harder, and he was trying not to panic. “Hello?” He said, his throat getting caught on the second syllable.

“Hi, is Jughead Jones available?” In the background Jughead overheard a voice mention something about critical condition and Jughead’s heart ticked like a setting time bomb.

“This is he.” Jughead croaked. “Is everything alright?” He tried to keep a steady voice, but the quiver in his lips was unavoidable. Something had happened to Betty. He could feel it.

“Sir, your wife Betty, she’s been in an accide-“

Jughead cut the nurse off before she had the chance to finish explaining what had happened. “I’ll be right there.”

He slid his phone in his pocket and grabbed his jacket from the hook near the door. Keys in his hand and beanie on his head he raced out into the winter wonderland of the night and hopped in his truck.

Jughead was not a religious person. The only times he’d ever stepped foot in a church had been for a wedding or a funeral. But during his ride to the hospital, any onlooker would have pegged him for a devout Christian. He clutched the steering wheel, praying to Something that Betty was safe and sound.

The roads were slick. Beneath the fresh coat of snow were concealed patches of ice. He passed a few cars that hadn’t been so lucky as to stay on the road, but one vehicle in particular stood out. It was a baby blue mini cooper, wrapped around a telephone pole.

His heart was a sledgehammer, thundering a storm in his chest. He gripped the wheel even tighter and closed his eyes, remembering the moment he proposed to her.

***

_Betty sat on the hood of her car, her bare shoulders basking in the sunlight streaming through the clouds. She was wearing a pastel pink sundress and her feet were wet and bare from splashing around in the Sweetwater River._

_The sun glowed on her skin and Jughead knew this was the moment. With shaky hands he reached for a white velvet box in his pocket and knelt down on knee in front of her._

_Betty slid down the hood of the car until her feet touched the ground and she watched Jughead with wide, dazzling diamond eyes while he professed his love for her. “Elizabeth Cooper, If I was lucky enough to spend forever with someone, I’d choose you. Every moment I spend with you is a moment I will treasure forever. And I want to spend all my moments with you, now until the day I die. Please Betty, will you marry me?”_

_She cried and held him and repeated yes a million times over. She declared to be his forever and they made love right there on the soft spring Earth, reminding each other just how much they truly loved one another._

_***_

Jughead forced his way through the double doors, bee lining for the front desk. “Betty Jones.” Was all he could say, if he said anything else he knew he’d lose it.

He followed the nurse down the hall. The white walls and tiled floors passed by in a blur. They turned right then left and right again. Jughead didn’t bother to remember the maze; he had more pressing matters to deal with. As they walked the nurse explained to him just what happened, although Jughead already knew, he’d seen the wreckage on the way there.

She’d hit black ice and lost control, skidding off the road towards the telephone pole. In order to reach her they had to remove the driver’s side door. She’d hit her head in the collision and she’d been unconscious ever since arriving.

Once they reached her room Jughead thanked the nurse and pushed past the door. There Betty laid with numerous tubes and IVs hooked up to her body. A bandage was wrapped around her head and dried blood was caked in her blonde hair. Bruises littered her arms and her leg was slung up in cast. “No Betty,” he breathed, rushing to her side.

He held her limp hand in his and brought it to his lips, kissing each knuckle and her fingertips carefully, afraid of causing her anymore pain. Reaching up a hand and he caressed her cheek, brushing the hair from her face. Silent tears streamed down his face and his nose began to water.  _Why Betty. Anybody but Betty_.

This wasn’t going to be the last moment he spent with her.

He sat beside her in a waiting chair, watching her face, waiting for any sign of movement. The heart monitor beeped and her chest rose and fell with every breath. Those were the only two things, reminding him that she was alive.

Until the beeping slowed to almost nothing.

“We’re losing her.” A team of doctors flooded the room, forcing Jughead from his place beside her. “We need to save them.”

A nurse pulled Jughead out into the hall, where Alice and Hal had been waiting. When Alice saw Jughead she pulled him into a crippling hug, sobbing endlessly into his shoulder. Jughead held her shaking body tightly, rubbing her back and telling her everything was going to be alright.

She didn’t believe him.

The family was lead back into the waiting room. Hal sat in the corner holding Alice’s hand while Jughead paced back and forth. He kept repeating to himself, “Not Betty,” beneath his breath and he prayed.

He begged and he pleaded with the universe to not take her away from him. Betty was his everything. She was his sun, his moon, his millions of stars. She made him feel things he didn’t think were possible. She was his favorite song, his favorite color, his favorite everything and she was too young to be taken from this world.

It was three hours until anyone came out to speak to them. The doctor removed his mask and took a deep breath before he began to speak.

“We tried so hard to save her-” was all Jughead heard. Everything else he tuned out. He fell into the chair closest to him and buried his face in his hands and cried.

Forcing back the tears he looked up at the doctor. “What about-?”

The doctor smiled and offered Jughead his hand. He accepted it and stood up, just now noticing the nurse behind him. Wrapped in her arms was a bundle of pale pink blankets.

Jughead held out his arms and took her from the nurse. “She’s six pounds and 4 ounces, 8.5 inches long. Did you have a name you wanted for her?”

He remembered back to the names they discussed. The ones he hated and the ones Betty loved.  _Betty._  He sighed and rocked the sleeping baby in his arms, mesmerized by her beauty. She was so small and so fragile and he wondered how in the hell he was going to raise her all alone. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

“Wendy.” He choked out. “Wendy Elizabeth Jones.” The nurse wrote her name down and Jughead stood there, with his whole heart wrapped in his arms. His life with Betty may have ended, but a new one was just beginning.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so sorry please don't hate me for this. This may have a part two one day, but as for now it is complete. Comments and kudos are much appreciated!


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